Honduras: steps taken so far

09/12/09
Latin America and the Caribbean

(This post was written by CIP Associate Abigail Poe.) Following the June 28th coup in Honduras, the U.S. government did not immediately impose sanctions on the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti. Some aid was suspended, but few other steps were taken, with the argument that moving slowly preserved "leverage" on behalf of President Manuel Zelaya's return. However, after a last OAS mission to Honduras in late August failed to convince the de facto coup government to agree to the terms of the San Jose Accord, the United States has started to implement multiple sanctions. Below is a list of the sanctions that have been imposed by the United States on the de facto Honduran government to date, including details on the aid that has been officially terminated. In addition to the sanctions listed below, the State Department also released a statement indicating that "at this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections" on November 29 in Honduras.

  • $11 million in Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) assistance to Honduras has been terminated, along with a hold on $4 million intended for a road project.
  • $9.4 million in USAID assistance has been terminated. This includes $8.7 million in development assistance and Economic Support Funds (ESF), which "go mainly toward trade capacity building and support for Honduran ministries of labor and education" and $2.7 million of the Child Survival and Health fund.
  • $8.96 million in State Department assistance has been terminated. This is broken into three parts: $6.5 million in Foreign Military Financing, $361,000 in International Military Education and Training and $1.72 million in Global Peacekeeping operations.
  • $1.7 million in section 1206 security assistance has been frozen.
  • Visas of a few members and supporters of the de facto regime have been revoked.
  • The nonimmigrant visa section in the consular section of the embassy in Honduras has been closed to all but emergency cases.
  • So far, the sanctions and threats to not recognize the results of the November 29th elections have not appeared to soften the Micheletti regime's opposition to the San Jose Accord and the subsequent return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power. Instead, Micheletti has expressed that he "is sure that the international community will recognize the regime formed from the coup d'etat on June 28, after the elections take place on November 29th."